Finishing Chemo

I avoided swimming for 6 weeks after the 2 week clear of last session, on advice from the oncologist. My first swim was a dip in the fjords on a cruise!  Wonderful after 6 months out of the water!

I avoided hot tubs, steams rooms etc for another month after that, just to be extra careful.  I did have oral thrush on and off for 10 weeks after the last session, which made me extra cautious.

That is amazing news - do you mind me asking for a bit more detail (not being nosy but i ma literally just about to post something on wanting a second opinion as to whether 6m is definitely more beneficial than 3m on Capox).  My husband is on cycle 3 of 8 on capox and is finding each cycle progressively harder (as was expected).  We were told he needed 6m rather than 3 as 4 of the 23 lymph nodes removed had cancerous indications.  If it was 3 LN, it would have been 3m of chemo.  It is adjuvant chemo if that makes a difference.  I have read some research which seems to conclude that for adjuvant Capox chemo, there is no significant difference in outcome between 3m and 6m - so i would be really interested to understand why your drs have given you such amazing news.  But what a fantastic early Xmas present - you must be thrilled - hope the last round goes well.

Hello. I don’t mind you asking at all. My cancer was in three lymph nodes and I was really surprised at initially being told that I’d need 6 months of chemo as everything I’d read and researched seem to say that three months was just as good as six months. In fact patients seem to have better outcomes with the three months rather than 6. And I really, really researched into this. I’m a degree educated nurse so I looked at all the research. I didn’t challenge my oncologist as I just thought they must have their reasons for wanting me to have 6 months and believed this was because I was such high risk of the cancer returning. I was surprised when they suddenly reduced my treatment plan to 3 months citing the reason that there is no evidence that 6 is better than 3, I mean surely I’m not the first patient of theirs on Capox?! I will discuss it when I have my face to face with them. 

I’ve just finished my third cycle and like your husband I had a rough ride of it! Just felt like my energy had been completely zapped! I have a friend who said that she also had an awful time on cycle 3 and then suddenly the cycles got much more manageable. It’s just a rollercoaster isn’t it?! 

Hi, I am just about to start CAPOX treatment after surgery which removed all the cancer so just preventative, I am worried about the side effects but hearing you found it not too bad gives me some positivity, sounds like being active is a good thing

Congratulations! I would run your plan by your oncologist to br sure,  but generally the sooner you get back to what you love, the better! And exercise is really  good to do... 

Just wonderful! What an amazing Christmas present x

I hope your final treatment went well and you are now days away from finishing. If you get any more insight into the rationale behind the change I’d be really interested to hear it. My husband was meant to have his 4th cycle last week but his bloods weren’t good enough so he has had Xmas off - which we thought would be wonderful but his neuropathy ( fingers, toes and funny tastes) have actually got worse whilst being off the drugs. Anyway it’s rearranged for early Jan so we will see what happens then. Hope you had a lovely Xmas and are feeling well and positive for the future. X

Hello, I’m sorry to hear about hubby. Hopefully he’ll feel a little better which each day that passes. I was due to finish Christmas Eve but due to flu combined with chest and ear infection they advised me to stop so I didn’t have my last two doses. So I’m all done and have to say I feel incredibly, it’s only now that I realise just how bad I was feeling. I spoke to my oncologist at length about the rationale for halving my treatment. I was told that all recent evidence shows that 4 rounds of Capox is as beneficial as 8, in fact people who have four rounds tend to have better outcomes. So the recommended evidence based treatment plan is now 4 rounds of Capox rather than 8. I’m very happy with this! I hope you and your husband have managed to get some enjoyment from Christmas, I found really strong tasting foods were palatable 

Be sure to mention to your doctor that the neuropathy is getting worse even off treatment. This happened to me and it has continued to cause me problems 9 months after my last treatment (hands, feet, and legs only, the funny tastes and cold sensitivity resolved).